Real costs of writing books

Everybody knows the price of a book, but how many know the cost? For the first time ever the human costs of writing have been measured in dollars and cents. Here is the emotional cost to the auteur of a literary non-fiction tome:
- The agony of creation, the anguish of being a sensitive artist in a harsh and cruel world $4,415.99
- The sting of anonymity, the pain of not being lionized by total strangers $1,831.35
- The aching injustice of not receiving a large advance from greedy, money mad publishers $3,965.08
- The annoyance of having people insist that the book be published before they pay for it $2,942.74
- The hurt and humiliation of not making even one pre publication best seller list $2,627.50
- The shock of being snubbed by the Pulitzer Prize Committee $3,500.00
- The misery of receiving reviews by reviewers who have no soul $4,726.13
- Fresh, creative, original ideas $1.41
Total $24,010.20

There you have it. Figures don't lie. The poor darlings. One wonders why they insist on doing it. No, really.